Alexandar Georgiev, sent from Colorado to San Jose in a trade along with Nikolai Kovalenko, a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, started for the Sharks and made 27 saves.

“It’s a little strange because you know the players’ tendencies and that’s not always good for a goalkeeper,” Georgiev said. “You shouldn’t get too caught up in what the boys are doing. For me it was just, as always, treating the boys fairly. I know how to play hockey, so don’t think about it too much.”

Mikko Rantanen scored a goal and extended his point streak to seven games (four goals, nine assists). Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon each had two assists for the Avalanche (19-15-0), who are 5-2-0 in their last seven games.

“Especially in the first period, I thought we were shooting the puck, which created a lot of chances for us. The second half wasn’t so good. I thought they got the upper hand a little bit in the second half,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “But I also liked our third round again. I thought we got back to what we were doing in the first third. I thought our penalty shootout worked great tonight.”

William Eklund and Carl Grundstrom scored for the Sharks (11-19-5), who have suffered three straight losses and six of seven losses.

“I don’t know if it’s psychological. At times I didn’t mind our third period. I thought we did some good things, but there’s a fine line to winning in this league,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “They make a few plays, we don’t make a few plays, and that’s in the back of our net. That’s the difference in the game of hockey.”